EDITOR’S NOTE: Superiorland Yesterdays is prepared by the reference staff at the Peter White Public Library in Marquette.

30 years ago

MARQUETTE — Michigan Fair was recently opened at 114 W. Washington St. by owner Leslie White. The new store offers a wide variety of quality Michigan-made gift items that “reflect the diversity and high level of craftsmanship in our state,” according to White. The store features pottery, copper art, books, soaps, baskets, bird feeders, clothing, wine racks, candies and specialty foods. “The idea for the store was born of a demand for regionally made gift items to keep as momentos of a good vacation or to give to friends as a reminder of what a wonderful place we live in,” White said. As a former art teacher, White says it’s her personal judgment that determines what product lines the store will carry. “I have more than 65 Michigan companies represented that make products of the highest gift quality.” In conjunction with Michigan Week, the shop will be holding an open house Saturday, offering free samplings from its Michigan foods department.

60 years ago

MARQUETTE — Three crippling diseases now under attack by the National Foundation affect one-fifth of the Marquette County homes answering a questionnaire in the January Mothers’ March for the New March of Dimes, reported Mrs. Archie S. Narotozsky, Ishpeming, chairman of the National Foundation’s county chapter. The three cripplers are birth defects, arthritis, and polio. Of the 6,408 households in Marquette County reporting in the annual appeals, 865 had persons suffering from arthritis, 263 reported family members who had been stricken with polio, and 16 had persons born with some defect. More than half of the patients reported the diagnosis had been made by a physician.